By Keerthi Ramesh
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) said on Tuesday that it will lay off up to 30,000 jobs in 2026 as the delivery giant accelerates its strategic retreat from handling large volumes of packages for Amazon.com, a former linchpin of its parcel business.
The move is part of an ongoing turnaround strategy aimed at improving profitability and reshaping UPS’s operations around higher-margin customers and services, company executives said during a quarterly earnings call with analysts. The job reductions mark the latest phase of workforce cuts that already saw tens of thousands of positions eliminated in 2025.
Read: UPS lays off approximately 48,000 workers (October 29, 2025)
UPS Chief Financial Officer Brian Dykes told investors that most of the planned cuts would come through attrition, not replacing workers who depart and a voluntary separation program for full-time drivers. The company also said it will close at least 24 facilities in the first half of the year and is evaluating additional closures later in 2026.
“We’re in the final six months of our Amazon accelerated glide-down plan,” CEO Carol Tomé said on the call, referring to a multiyear effort to reduce the share of Amazon parcels UPS processes. As part of that plan, UPS has already cut its Amazon volume by roughly 1 million packages per day through the end of 2025 and expects to lower it by another million by the end of this year.
Read: Amazon to convert Fresh supermarkets, Go Stores to Whole Foods locations (January 28, 2026)
Amazon was once UPS’s largest customer, accounting for a significant chunk of delivery volume. But UPS executives have described the business as “extraordinarily dilutive” to profit margins, prompting the company to scale back the relationship and focus instead on sectors such as healthcare logistics, small-business deliveries and commercial shipments that typically yield higher returns.
UPS reported $24.5 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter and projected about $89.7 billion in revenue for 2026, beating analyst expectations even as it steers away from lower-margin parcel work. The company’s stock rose in midday trading following the announcement.
The job cuts roughly 6% of UPS’ global workforce follow extensive reductions in 2025, when the company eliminated about 48,000 positions and closed more than 90 facilities as part of an earlier network realignment.
Labor advocates, including representatives of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents many UPS workers, criticized the buyout approach and pressed for stronger protections for drivers and warehouse employees who remain. Union leaders have highlighted concerns that voluntary separation offers may not fully compensate workers who are leaving well-paid, long-service jobs.
UPS’ announcement comes at a time of broader shifts in the logistics industry, with major shippers navigating changes in e-commerce demand, automation, and competition from rival carriers and in-house delivery networks developed by Amazon and others